


The Stars Still Shine on the Both of Us

by therjolras



Category: Fantastic Four (2015), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Jedi!Ben, M/M, Pilot!Reed, lowkey reedjohnny? its catching, return of the obnoxious nicknames
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 07:43:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5577121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therjolras/pseuds/therjolras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reed Richards had a friend, once.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fate-motif (Jo_Girard)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jo_Girard/gifts).



> Okay okay so this isREALLY short and doesn't even get where I wanted it to but I wanted to get it up pronto dente, ja feel. It should be updated pretty frequently, with how short the chapters are looking, but this is me we're talking about so you never know. I'm out. Enjoy.

When Reed was young, he had a friend. He was taller than Reed, taller and stronger and wiser, and Reed always figured he could have had any friends he wanted but he always stuck with Reed. Reed, a grease-stained tinkerer on a polished planet, not tall or strong or wise at all-- but Ben, on top of everything else Ben was kind.

Reed kind of figured from the start Ben wasn't meant to stay, so when one day he came to Reed’s house puffing and blowing and said he had to say goodbye Reed wasn't surprised at all.

“But where are you going?” He asked. 

“I don't know,” Ben said, pale under his tan and freckles. “Away, Mom said. And something about being like my dad-- I missed it. They wouldn’t have let me say goodbye if I stayed.”

“But you're going,” Reed said quietly. 

“I have to,” Ben replied. “I’m sorry, buddy. If I can come back--”

“It’s okay,” Reed said. “I understand. Whatever it is you're gonna do-- go do it. Do it great. I know you can.” Because Ben was better, Ben was stronger, Ben was kind. Ben, Reed knew, could do anything.

Even if he didn't come back.

*-*-*--*

“Richards, Reed, seating bay 5.”

Reed knew well enough that people who left backwards planets like his own didn't come back: he knew well enough because here he was, leaving, and he had no intention of even watching his home of 18 years grow smaller behind him. 

He was joining the resistance. 

He was  _ doing something  _ with his life. And he'd never been more scared, never ever.

“Nervous?” his seat-mate asked. Reed glanced away from the window at him and hastily shook his head.

“Just… admiring the view,” he said.

“Believe me, it gets better,” his neighbor said. “You’ve never been in space, have you?”

“Nope,” Reed said. “I tried a couple times, but I always wound up exploding.”

“You mentioned that,” his neighbor said, grinning and showing all his teeth. “I’m pretty sure that's why we're keeping you. That was my vote, anyway.”

“I appreciate it,” Reed said. “It’s… Johnny, right?”

“Johnny Storm, at your service,” he replied. “Best starpilot between here and Tattoine, and that's a promise I can keep. You've already met my dad.”

“Jedi Master Storm? Is your dad?” Reed managed to say. Johnny shrugged.

“Long story,” he said. “I’ve got a sister, too, and she's a Jedi like dear old dad, but I'm just a pilot.”

“The best star pilot between here and Tattoine,” Reed said.

“Yeah, that's true,” Johnny said, but Reed knew the conversation was just a temporary remedy. Perks of living eighteen years in the outer rim: you knew when someone was mooning after something. 

The stars flashed by in the time it took Reed to blink: the ship hurtled through the vacuum of space-in-warp-drive for a long time, and Johnny closed his eyes to wait.

Reed looked out into the vacuum of space-in-warp-drive and thought about what was coming. Jedis and pilots and the war, if it could be called a war, and somewhere out there Reed's destiny was waiting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reed meets his destiny.

Reed’s destiny met him (or so he thought) when the ship came out of warp, in the shape of a small blonde woman and her disgruntled shadow. They zeroed in on Johnny and Master Storm when they disembarked, stepping up to greet them and pausing as the others swarmed out and deeper into the bowels of the ship. Reed, because Johnny had established himself as a friend, lingered at his heels. He caught the last few phrases of their greetings, half trying not to eavesdrop and half stupidly curious: the shadow was disdainful, the blonde was apparently in charge, and both of them were wearing Jedi robes. Meaning Reed and Johnny were in the company of three jedis and severely outnumbered.

“Nothing blew up while we were gone?” Johnny was saying. The blonde rolled her eyes.

“I believe you took all the explosions with you,” she said primly. Johnny shot back, “Sure, but not the stupid. And I hear the Force makes a great detonator.” The blonde snorted. Her shadow also snorted, and shifted like he was looking for a fight. Master Storm cleared his throat. Both Johnny and the shadow took a step back; Johnny’s took him into a direct collision with Reed, who had since giving up on trying not to eavesdrop.

Of course, then they were all looking at him. “Um,” he said. “Hi.”

“Susan, Victor, this is Reed,” Master Storm said. “We picked him up on Oystro.”

“Just thought we'd bring some more  _ boom  _ back with us,” Johnny said. “Reed, this is my little sister Susan, of the Naboo. And that's Victor, of afterlife-of-your-choice.”

“Hi,” Reed said. Susan smiled at him in a tolerating fashion. Victor said, “So you're Johnny's playdate?”

“Are you Force-sensitive?” Susan interrupted. Reed shook his head.

“Just good with ships,” he said. “Master Storm said I'd probably be working with the pilots?” He glanced at the older man, who nodded. Susan murmured, probably in Victor's direction, “Say nothing.”

“You can check in with me while the big awesome jedis catch up,” Johnny said, putting an arm around Reed’s shoulders. “You’ll like the hangar. It's got a great view of the black vacuum of space.” Reed laughed.

“Lead on,” he said. “You probably know where I'm going more than I do.”

“Catch you later, Sue,” Johnny said, and waved as he dragged Reed off. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Sue waving after them. She looked… Reed’s people skills weren’t exactly up to speed, but she looked wistful.

“Is there something… up with your sister?” He asked, as Johnny navigated them both through long hallways mostly leading downwards and full of people. “I mean, I’m not exactly up to speed on the family thing, but it looks tense.”

“No, you’re just not up to speed on the whole family thing,” Johnny quipped. “Watch your step.” Reed tripped on the threshold, and fell into Johnny’s outstretched arm.

“Thanks,” he said, straightening up and looking around at the room he’d entered. The ceiling had pulled away, hanging far above their heads: rows and rows of starfighters hung between, attended by catwalks and humming droids and orange-suited pilots. None of them matched: some were small, some were sprawling, some were painted with the insignia of the jedi and others were black with graffiti scrawled over the insignia of the empire.

“The resistance doesn’t let anything go to waste, huh?” Reed mused. Johnny snorted.

“Shiny, aren’t they?” He said. “Come on, I’ll show you the real deal.” He set off, grabbing Reed’s shoulder with his free hand and dragging him along for a moment before Reed followed of his own accord. Johnny led him up one of the several catwalks, nudging him along when he got distracted by the view. Up and up they went, and all the way to the front to where the airlocks opened into the vacuum of deep space: there Johnny ground to a halt abreast of a small, slim ship painted dark red. 

“This is it,” he said. “Built it myself. Blew it up a few times, too, but don’t tell anyone. I had to wear a full kit inside for months ‘cause I hadn’t worked out all the kinks yet.”

“Sounds like my kind of ride,” Reed said, stepping towards the railing. “Mind if I take a look?”

“Be my guest,” Johnny said, and Reed could hear him chuckling as he first leaned over the rail to test the supports and then climbed onto the nose of the ship. It creaked and swung, which Reed was entirely used to, and he clung to the side with one hand as he fumbled with the tab control on his gloves. The magnets activated on the third try. Still one-handed, but definitely safer, he turned on his boot grabs and looked over the hull.

“Are you sure you don’t want a harness?” Johnny asked. “Most people use a harness.”

“Harnesses weren’t in the budget where I come from,” Reed grunted, plucking through an open hatch at the ship’s innards. “You learn to think outside the box when you’re dirt-poor and have no formal education.” Johnny laughed.

“No kidding,” he said. “And how did you learn how to mess with ships without a formal education?”

“I wanted to go to space,” Reed replied absently. “So I built ships. And then the scrapper caught me stealing his revenue, so he put me to work. Worked out alright from there.”

“Sounds like it, considering you’re upside-down.”

Reed laughed. “Well, I am that. Comes in handy when you’re too short to stand under the girders and work. After that, well, it just comes in handy.” He scuttled around the hull to the railing, turned off his boot-grabs, and climbed over. He had to remind himself to turn off the hand grabs before he could let go.

“What do you think?” Johnny said.

“It looks great,” Reed said. “Non-combustable. Although, if you could find a way to set fire to the hull--”

“Can’t do it unless you’re flying in an atmosphere,” Johnny reasoned.

“True. But if you could--”

“Scariest ship in the resistance,” Johnny concluded. “They’d see me coming and say, ‘oh, boy, that dude’s dead and still flying, we should get out of his way. And the war would be won, snappy.”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Reed said.

“We should set  _ all  _ the starfighters on fire?”

“ _ Yes, _ ” Reed said. 

“We would still need an oxygen supply.”

“Look at you, supplying the voice of logic.” Both of them spun around. They had company on the catwalk, company that had somehow snuck on them without any noise: Reed suspected that the jedi robe he was wearing had something to do with it. He was small, his hair close-cropped, and his blue eyes were set in deep, patient creases; his smile was wry, which didn’t seem like the typical expression when dealing with Johnny.

“Not like you were around to do it, Master Ewok,” Johnny shot back. “Back from your mission so soon? I thought I’d beat you by at least a day.”

“Let me think, recruitment mission versus super secret jedi business? Yeah, the boring recruitment mission would definitely be faster.” The Jedi grinned, impish, and Johnny snorted before moving in for a hug. “Bring it in, Ewok.” They hugged briefly, and then Johnny pulled back and turned to Reed. 

“This is our newest,” he said. “Best starfighter climber on Oystro before dad grabbed him up. You alright there, buddy?” He turned to the Jedi, whose expression had clouded.

“No, go on,” he said. “Just sounded… familiar.”

“Well, see for yourself. Jedi Grimm, this is Reed.” Johnny gestured from one of them to the other, and both of them started talking at once.

“Wait, Jedi  _ Gri-- _ ”

“ _ Reed _ ?”

“Ben?”

“Wait, you two know each other?”

“I think we did,” Ben said softly. Reed felt something big and bright and heavy blooming inside him; if he had been any older, he might have called it joy.

“Ben Grimm of the bay, you son of a bitch,” he said. “What’s it been? Seven years?”

“Close enough,” Ben said, a smile creeping across his face. And then they were laughing, and then Ben was colliding with him and wrapping him up in a hug that was a bit awkwardly positioned between Reed’s height and Ben’s weird-awesome Jedi strength, but Reed was too happy to think about it.

“So that’s where you went,” he said. “Ben Grimm,  _ Jedi.  _ Wasn’t that a surprise for you?”

“I’m not sure I’ve even grasped the reality of it yet,” Ben replied. “Um. Johnny.” They broke apart and faced Johnny, Reed feeling a little awkward.

“Well, this is awkward,” he said. “Johnny, Ben and I were friends on Oystro.”

“Seven years ago,” Johnny said, looking impressed. “Maybe the Force really is with you, R2-BEN2.”

“Shut up,” Ben shot back. 

“Is he making fun of your height?” Reed asked. It was a little surreal-- seven years ago Ben had towered over him, and now the tables had turned. By several inches. It was surreal and just a little bit awesome.

“Probably,” Ben said. “What about you, have you been here long? Have you signed in?”

“No-o?” Reed said. “Johnny was showing me the hangar, and we got distracted. In a good way.” Ben rolled his eyes.

“Not that I don’t disagree with your methods of wooing, Captain Storm,” he said, “But Reed should probably check in first next time, don’t you think?”

“Yes sir, Master Ewok,” Johnny said. “Care to join us on our foray to the registration offices?” Ben scoffed.

“You only need two pilots to a starfighter, Captain,” he shot back. “Go on. I ought to greet Master Storm.” He set off, robe a-swishing and looking (Reed thought) very grand, for all his small stature.

“I’m pretty sure he still wants you to call him dad!” Johnny called after him. Then, “Come on, Reed, he’s right, we should probably get you set up. I bet I could get them to put you down as my co-pilot.”

“Don’t you already have one?” Reed asked, jogging after Johnny as he set off after Ben. 

“Nah,” Johnny said. “No one could ever stand to fly with me.”


End file.
